Apple iPhone 4 Woes Worsen

Videos iPhone from Youtube

The news about Apple and its iPhone 4 isn't getting any better. Earlier this week, Consumer Reports issued a statement saying that it could not
recommend the iPhone 4 because of the phones reception problems, and now calls for a recall of the device are growing louder.

The iPhone 4 was launched late last month to great fanfare; pre orders sold out ahead of its launch and long lines of eager shoppers snapped up the new phone as soon as it became available. But many of those buyers soon encountered what became known as the "grip of death" -- the fact that the iPhone 4's signal degraded greatly when they placed their hand on the lower left-hand corner of the phone.

Reports of this problem have been widespread, but I have not been able to replicate it in my usage of the iPhone 4 so far. Still, many technology bloggers and iPhone reviews have experienced it, as have scores of users.

Apple initially told people to avoid holding the iPhone in that spot, and claimed the problem was actually due to a software flaw that caused the phone display a higher signal strength than the phone was actually experiencing. But few people seem to believe Apple's claims, and now Consumer Reports has weighed in.

The respected consumer magazine issued a statement saying it can't recommend the iPhone 4 because of the signal problem. (Consumer Reports did, however, give the iPhone 4 its top ranking among smartphones.)

Now, calls for a recall of the iPhone 4 are growing louder, and some PR experts are going so far as to say that a recall is inevitable. I'm not convinced that Apple will actually recall the phone -- the company has yet to even truly acknowledge the problew. But the furor over the iPhone 4's reception problems doesn't seem to be going away, so it will be interesting to see how Apple weathers the strom.




Source: http://cellphones.about.com

This Week's App Store Updates, iPad Special! - 2nd July 2010

Videos iPad Store App from Youtube

Browsing the App Store this weekend? Here are ten new or updated apps especially for the iPad worth taking a closer look at if you are:

Wondershare iDraft.

This is a simple notepad for the iPad, where you can draw or write anything you like on the screen. Pages can be saved in the iPad's photo album, or emailed out to friends as PDFs too. The app is currently free until the 7th July. Free.

Crystal Defenders for iPad.

Available for the iPhone too, the iPad version of Crystal Defenders has enhanced graphics to take advantage of the higher resolution offered. From Square Enix, the team behind Final Fantasy, this is a strategy game where you must position units on a battlefield to defend your position, or attack enemies. $7.99/£4.99.

Splash Duel HD.

It's Breakout underwater! Play against a friend or the iPad as you try to break down the wall and score goals against your opponent. There are 100 levels, 12 bonuses to collect and a selectable difficulty level. $2.99/£1.79.

Way of the Warrior HD.

Samurai fighting game for the iPad, with stunning graphics and manga-style comic cut-scenes. The control system relies on swipes and gestures rather than a virtual d-pad to carry out all the different movements and attacks. $4.99/£2.99.

Dragon Checkers.

A checkers game filed with dragon graphics inspired by the StosyBoy application All About Dragons. Play against the iPad or with a friend. $0.99/£0.59.

Olsynth.

A monophonic synthesizer for your iPad, with four waveforms, modulation, oscillation, filters and several other tweaks. If you've got the ability, you could create some amazing stuff with this! $6.99/£3.99.

iReadPDF.

A sister app to iAnnotatPDF, this is a PDF reader where yot can also search and share them, plus open them directly from an email or sync them via iTunes. You can't complain about the price either! Free.

The Little Mermaid and Other Stories by H.C. Andersen.

When done properly, interactive books really do make the iPad come alive, and this is one of them. This includes The Little Mermaid, Emperor's New Clothes and The Happy Family, spanning 65 pages with 40 interactive sections. This update brings more sounds, interaction and animation. $8.99/£5.49.

iTinis HD

A collection of many common cocktail recipes, all presented in a very attractive way. You can search, browse, bookmark and rate recipes, and view the latest and highest rated ones too. $4.99/£2.99.

Blogshelf

A news and blog reader for the iPad, with a visual style lifted from iBooks. There are plenty of user definable traits from a black or white theme and font sizing to language translation onboard, so if you're a keen blog reader, this could be worth a look. A bit pricey though. $4.99/£2.99.




By Andy Boxall, www.iphonefreak.com

Apple iPad May Ship With Webcam

Video iPad webcam from Youtube


Close scrutiny of the iPad which Steve Jobs presented at Apple's special event last week shows what may be webcam, tucked away in the black screen bezel just like it is on the Mackbook Pro.

A screen-grap from the official video of the event shows nothing but a small dot above the screen, opposite the home button. Taken alone, this isn't much, but compare this with the picture of the iPad leaked just hours before the event (below). If you remember, these showed an iPad locked down in a security frame, and you could clearly see the camera in the bezel. I even pointed out the cutout in the frame that let us see the webcam.

Still not convinced? What about this screenshot from the iPad emulator in the new SDK (software developed kit)?

That sure looks like the iPad thinks it has a camera. Up until now, this is what any good TV lawyer would call circumstantial evidence. The last, and oddest, piece of the puzzle comes from Mac and iPod repair company Mission Repair. The company has, somewhat strangely, already received replacement parts for fixing iPads. On the company's blog, employee Ryan Arter has posted pictures which show a spot for a camera in the main iPad frame.

This is accompanied by a shot of the frame alongside the camera from a MacBook. It's a perfect fit. The only thing that seems weird on this last point is that Apple is already sending out parts. Why so soon?

So why didn't Steve Jobs announce the camera already? Perhaps the hardware is there, but asl previously wrote, Apple is leaving it out to meet the rather severe price restrictions it has set for the product line. Jobs was most likely using a prototype on stage, just like he did when the iPhone was first releaved. A prototype would be likely to have the camera intact.

Event if these clues all add up, we'd guess that the first-generation iPad will still ship without a camera. After all, did all the reporters who got hands-on time with the iPad after the launch really all miss an iSight camera? We doubt it. And remember the third-gen iPod Touch, which was expected to have a camera and then shipped without it, but with a camera-shaped hole inside.

Perhaps Apple will pull a "one more thing" closer to the launch date, or perhaps not. One thing we do know for sure, though-camera or not, there is one thing that Apple will certainly not be adding to the iPad: Flash.




By Charlie Sorrel, http://m.wired.com

Apple's iPad Vs Lenovo's IdeaPad U1Hybrid Notebook

Click Video iPad vs Notebook from Youtube

Apple's announcement on their new iPad left some disappointed in its capabilities and lack of. The iPad is sleek and thin at .53 inches and weighs only 1.4 pounds.

According to Apple the iPad will run iPhone apps without any modification. There are however some features that will have consumers thinking twice before considering to buy the iPad.

The iPad has no multitasking capabilities which can be counter-productive; how can you copy and paste between two application? This is a basic requirement that is even available in some smartphones.

No Flash support. Many websites use flash for video streaming as well as movie content providers like Hulu, Fancast, and others. The screen ratio is 4:3 and is not HD ready. The screen itself displays 132 ppi as compared to the iPhones 163 ppi. This leaves much to be desired when viewing streaming video.

The good news is thd iPad has optional keyboard dock, camera connection kit and an Apple-designed case; all of which will raise the basic cost.

In the 2010 CES, Lenovo announced their IdeaPad U1Hybrid Notebook. This device has unique detach-and-converge design that lets users easily remove the screen to instantly switch from clamsell mode to a multi-touch slate tablet.

[video is available in the full version of this article (see link below)]
In the clamshell mode the ideaPad runs Windows 7 Home Edition and when detached, in the tablet mode, runs Skylight OS. Skylight OS is a custom user interface by Lenovo built on top of the Linux kernel. Since both OS's support Adobe Flash there's no problems watching flash multimedia in clamshell or tablet mode.

Both operating systems also provide users with a wide range of existing applications that are not found in the iPad except for existing iPhone apps.

Of course these are not the only two touch tablets that we will see in 2010. This year we can see completion heating up between eReaders and touch tablets. The winner will have to be a device that is both innovative and affordable.



Source: http://pda.physorg.com

Apple iPad Specifications

Click Video Apple iPad Specifications - See The Technical Specifications for The iPad from Youtube

San Fransisco, Apple's new product which claims to revolutionize the computing industry is a 0.5-inches thin tablet called the iPad. It weighs 1.5 pounds. As Steve Jobs says "It's thinner and lighter than any netbook." The screen is a 9.7-inch IPS display.


A big surprise for everbody in the industry is that the iPad is powered by an Apple made "custom silicon". The chip is called the A4. It is 1GHz chip. The iPad comes with a flash storage capacity of 16, 32, and 64 GB.

The tablet has the latest wireless 802.11n card, and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR. It also has the most speculated features such as the accelerometer, compass, speaker, mic and dock connector. The iPad doesn't have a camera though.

One good thing we the iPad has is that Apple has been able to achieve 10 hours of battery life for the device. Steve adds "In addition to this battery life, it's got a month of standby life. It's remarkable."

As the iPhone changed how touch screens were used, the iPad offer a more impressive experience. "We built the iPad to run virtually every one of these apps unmodified right out of the box. We can do that in two ways - do it with pixel for pixel accuracy in a black box, or we can pixed-double and run them in full-screen. This is really cool."

Apple is also launching the SDK today for the developers to develop applications. The SDK is being launched along with the iPad tools. "If the developer takes the time, they can also take full advantage of the large touchscreen display in the iPad. We did that with our own internal apps, and we expect developers will want to do that too."




By: Archit Tantia, www.thaindian.com